Battle of the Saintes

April 12^th, 1782 saw English Admiral George Rodney defeat a French fleet under the command of Comte de Grasse in the West Indies.  As published in Chambers’ “Book of Days”, fighting began about seven AM.  The French had fewer ships, but larger and more powerful.  The battle took nearly half a day, ending with an English victory that was a blow to French naval power in the region.  It also saved Jamaica from French invasion.

Admiral Rodney figures in the development of Walter Scott’s “The Pirate”, if the quote from Scott’s friend Will Clerk is accurate.  The quote is found in John Gibson Lockhart’s “Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott”.

‘When, many years afterwards, Clerk read The Pirate, he was startled by the resurrection of a hundred traits of the tabletalk of this lugger; but the author has since traced some of the most striking passages in that novel to his recollection of the almost childish period when he hung on his own brother Robert’s stories about Rodney’s battles and the haunted keys of the West Indies.’

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

French theologian Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet passed on this day, April 12th, in the year 1704. The Bishop of Meaux made part of his mark on history as a homilist. He also served as tutor to Louis XIV's son Louis de France.

Like Walter Scott, Bossuet developed an interest in history at an early age. In the study "The Early Mental Traits of Three Hundred Geniuses", Catherine Morris Cox states that 'While at Navarre, Bossuet had been wont to attend the theater, where he was charmed by the tragedies of Corneille, and under this influence he began to write madrigals and pious poems in the precieux taste of the age. ' Bossuet also had a passion for reading; Homer being a favorite. Cox's work imputes an IQ value of between 160 - 170 for Bossuet.

Scott's estimated IQ is also quite favorable, coming in at 150 - 160. A paragraph from Cox sounds vaguely reminiscent to the one on Bossuet: 'Scott delighted in the theater; an interest which had its birth in his first visit there at the age of 4 to see "As you Like It", which ever remained a vivid picture in his mind. In spite of the efforts of his teachers, Scott was unable to master the technique of music and painting, but his interest in literature grew, and at 15, he used his earnings to learn Italian, so that he might read the literary treasures in that language...At school Scott was behind his class, and so fell into the habit of doing inferior work. His master was annoyed at this, for he recognized the boy's ability. On one occasion, Scott succeeded in winning a place at the top of the class by a ruse; and from that time, he maintained his high position, being encouraged to strive to excel by the rector's statement that others might understand the Latin better, but Scott's understanding of the meaning was seldom exceeded...'

Union Flag

On April 12, 1606, The Union Flag (or Jack) was officially adopted as the standard of England, Wales, and Scotland.  Though the Treaty of Union would not be signed until 1707, the three kingdoms were united through having a common ruler, James I of England/VI of Scotland.  St. George's cross was joined by that of St. Andrew's.  Wales was not explicitly represented on the Union Flag, as it had already legally incorporated into England.

The Union Flag makes an appearance in Walter Scott's "Waverley":

"...In about two hours' time, the party were near the Castle of Stirling, over whose battlements the union flag was brightened as it waved in the evening sun. To shorten his journey, or perhaps to display his importance, and insult the English garrison, Balmawhapple, inclining to the right, took his route through the royal park, which reaches to and surrounds the rock upon which the fortress is situated..."